2 Pack ESP32 LoRa V3 Module Board - with 915MHz Antenna and SX1262 LoRa V3 Case Devices for Meshtastic Arduino LoRawan IOT

These are a decent intro to Lora and Meshtastic. The hardware is solid but I can feel the effect of tariffs and inflation in the pricing. As little as a year ago these were probably 20-30% less. The antenna included in the two pack is not the greatest but for same room or same house or with line of sight it’s acceptable for exploring. If I had a do-over I’d buy this kit with an SMA adapter and an external antenna that I could mount to a roof or an outside wall. And I’d probably go for the seeed studio 1000-e for mobile use. I like the little OLED display; it’s readable in a car when it’s bright outside. Very tiny text but legible. This works via wifi, bluetooth, or serial over usb which makes it quite versatile. It runs warm given it is an esp32 platform, so probably needs AC or at least airflow and shade for operation. Flashing was not difficult but I had to learn how to put it in programming mode. Basically connect the device to a computer via USB, hold the top left button and press the bottom button once. Release the top left button after a few seconds, maybe 5 or so. The screen will be off but the device should be powered on and in programming mode. This should then work with Meshtastic’s flasher via any Chromium based browser with USB to Serial support.

If you're considering testing Meshtastic or have another LoRa-based ESP32 project—epecially without a access to a 3d printer or the desire or hack together an enclosure—this is a great starter kit, and one that can be expanded. You'll receive two Heltec v3 boards with antennas and enclosures; only one of these is depicted in my photo. The boards can be flashed with the latest Meshtastic firmware using the idiot-proof site, flasher.meshtastic.org. The site will guide you through installing the USB serial driver, if needed, and updating the firmware directly from your browser (the web flasher requires Chrome or a chromium derivative, like MS Edge). Note: Ensure that you've connected the antenna before you powering up the board for the first time. These are low-powered ranscievers, but there's still the potential to damage the unit with reflected power (high SWR). The u.FL/IPEX coax ports are also rather delicate, so take care when connecting or disconnecting the antenna. The enclosures provide decent protection and include cutots for the JST battery connector (the modules include a LiPO charge controller) and access to the gpio pins. A clear plastic shield protects the OLED display. Using a battery with the enclosure is awkward, but it's convenient to power the modules with a usb-c data cable connected directly to your Meshtastic client. The stock antennas are a weak point, but they're fine for testing or within reasonable range of another node. With one of these modules stuck to our 9th story window, we were receiving its signal at ground level from at least a mile away in an urban encironment. This speaks volumes about LoRa's efficiency at only 100-150mW... it also says something about height advantage 😉 We've repurposed one of these modules into an outdoor Meshtastic node, installing it in a weatherproof enclosure with batteries, a solar panel, and a vertical antenna. Recommended!

I bought this kit on a whim for Meshtastic, having never used Meshtastic before. Within a couple minutes, I had it assembled, firmware installed, and was up and running on-the-air sending/receiving messages across town. Amazing! I definitely recommend this kit. It's cheap enough that you're not out much if it doesn't bring you joy. Assembly is a no-brainer, requires no tools. The quality is pretty good! I tried putting mine in the window of an airplane, and I picked up other nodes more than 100 miles away. Lots of fun. Will probably order more to give to friends.

Stumped at first why they didn’t work initially, they do not come with meshtastic installed so of course they don’t work 😁 easy fix. Overall very happy with these

Works great

I used the flasher on their official .org site and was able to set up two different nodes on two devices. It was easy to snap together, a bit difficult to open, which is understandable.

All good

I changed my review to a one star. These things are fine to play with but they are buggy so don't depend on them for reliable communication. Check out line of sight calculators before you dive in. I didn't and am sorry. A waste of 50 bucks.